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Marcia Wallace
Marcia Karen Wallace (November 1, 1942, Creston, Iowa, USA – October 25, 2013, Los Angeles, California, USA) was an American actress, voice artist, comedian, and game show panelist, primarily known for her roles in television situation comedies. She is perhaps best known for her roles as receptionist Carol Kester on the 1970s sitcom The Bob Newhart Show, and as the voice of elementary school teacher Edna Krabappel on the animated series The Simpsons, for which she won an Emmy in 1992. The role was retired after her death. Wallace was known for her tall frame, red hair, and distinctive laugh. She had a career spanning five decades on TV, film, and stage. She was a frequent guest on The Merv Griffin Show, which led to her receiving a personal request to appear on a new network sitcom, The Bob Newhart Show, in a role created especially for her. Diagnosed with breast cancer in 1985, she became a cancer activist, and remained so throughout her life. On the day she graduated from college, Wallace moved from Iowa to New York with $148 in her pocket. To make ends meet, she typed scripts, performed in summer stock, did commercials, and worked as a substitute English teacher in the Bronx. After performing for a year in a Greenwich Village nightclub, Wallace and four fellow entertainer friends formed an improvisational group called The Fourth Wall. In 1968, Wallace appeared for a year off-Broadway with the group. Afterwards, she made several other appearances in improvisational shows,and, after losing 100 pounds (45 kg) from her previous weight of 230, appeared in a nude production of Dark of the Moon at the avant-garde Mercer Arts Center. Wallace was a semiregular on The Merv Griffin Show, appearing over 75 times. When the show moved to Los Angeles, Wallace moved with it at Griffin's request. One of these appearances in March 1972 led to a phone call from TV producer Grant Tinker, who offered her a supporting role on The Bob Newhart Show on the recommendation of CBS founder Bill Paley. The role of Carol Kester (later Carol Kester Bondurant), the sarcastic receptionist to Bob Newhart's character, Dr. Robert Hartley, was written specifically for her. On one of the last episodes of Taxi, she portrayed herself, chosen as the ideal date of Rev. Jim Ignatowski. Later, Wallace played the maid on the satirical series That's My Bush!, and in 2009 appeared on the daytime soap The Young and the Restless, where she played an inefficient assistant kidnapper, Annie Wilkes. After The Simpsons started in 1989, Wallace joined the voice acting cast as the voice of Edna Krabappel, a role she kept until her death. In 1992, she received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for the episode "Bart the Lover". On film, Wallace appeared in such features as My Mother the Werewolf, Teen Witch, and Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go to College. In the 2008 film Tru Loved, she played a high school drama teacher who sponsors a gay–straight alliance. Category:Actors from USA